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VOLUNTEERING
with TSATF
Mission Statement: Because people within the Tri-State
area are living with HIV/AIDS, for which there is no cure, and
because people continue to become infected, the Tri-State AIDS
Task Force strives to educate, nurture and empower all people
confronting AIDS and to prevent the spread of the disease.
Our Organization is striving
to uphold its mission statement, which includes education, compassion
and direct service for people living with AIDS. We believe we
have created a mission statement that will lead us into the 21st
century.
Some Frequently
Asked volunteering Questions
 How much time do I
need to volunteer for?
This is really up to you. You
can find volunteering only takes an hour a month. Having said
that, obviously the less time you have the harder it can be to
find something that’s right for you.
You can volunteer at any time
of the week, day or evening. While much volunteering takes place
in office hours, you can volunteer at evenings and weekends too,
again depending on what you want to do. Typical volunteering
out of office hours includes offering transportation, fund-raising,
educating the community, and being a buddy to persons living
with AIDS.
Will I be interviewed? What will they ask me?
What can I ask them?
There will probably not formally
interview you before we place you but we will probably want to
have an informal chat. However, if the role has some responsibility,
for instance, for money, or if you will be working with persons
living with AIDS or with infectious materials, the interview
may be more formal. In either case this gives you, and TSATF,
a chance to assess each other and an opportunity to ask questions.
The sort of questions TSATF
will probably want to ask you will vary from role to role and
depend on the type of voluntary work you are interested in. However,
a typical interviewer (formal or informal) may ask any of the
following:
- why you are interested in
volunteering
- what sort of voluntary work
are you interested in
- what your particular skills
are
- what new skills would you
like to learn through your volunteer work
- how much time you have to
offer
You can ask them anything that
you feel unsure about. You may want to check some or all of the
following:
- payment of out-of-pocket expenses
- training/qualification opportunities
- what variety will there be
in the work?
- support/supervision (someone
to talk to regularly about how you are getting on)
- how volunteering may effect
my benefits, if you are claiming
An informal chat or interview
can also give you an opportunity to look at where you will be
volunteering and meet some of the other staff and volunteers.
Can
I leave if I don’t like it?
Yes, of course. You are under
no real obligation to keep volunteering for an organization that
you are unhappy in.
Having said that however it is
always worth talking to somebody about this first. TSATF has a
volunteer coordinator, your supervisor is responsible for
you or someone who you have got on with well. You can then discuss
with the volunteer coordinator why you feel unhappy and what
you feel would improve your time as a volunteer in the
organization.
It is also something you may
want to talk about with other volunteers in TSATF. You could
either do this informally, or if your organization has a Volunteers
Council or a regular meeting that all volunteers attend, you
could bring up your problem there.
If you feel that something
is seriously wrong or someone is treating you badly it is also
worth checking whether TSATF has a complaints procedure before
making a hasty decision to quit.
I’m working full-time. Will I still be able
to volunteer?
Yes, there are many opportunities
to volunteer that do not require you to be available Monday to
Friday during the day. Don’t be put off volunteering because
you work full-time! TSATF would love to find volunteers that
are able to volunteer evenings, nights and/or weekends.
Some examples of out of office
hours volunteering include: offering transportation, fund-raising,
educating the community, and being a buddy to persons living
with AIDS.
It is important however, to
check with TSATF, what time commitment they have in mind. You
will need to work out how many hours you will volunteer for and
for how long you wish to volunteer.
What
do volunteers do?
Almost anything you want to
do or can think of! You can volunteer to drive people to and
from doctor's appointments, do shopping, do lawn work, repair
plumbing, paint houses, write a newsletter, file papers, pick-up
and drop off mail, or fix computers. TSATF has clients with all
degrees of need that would greatly benefit from anything you
might offer.
Will I get training?
You need to ask during your
interview, as it varies a lot. TSATF offers substantial training
and support for some roles volunteers might play, but most roles
don’t require extensive training.
It depends on the type of work
you will be doing. So if you’re spending one day doing simple
household maintenance, expect about 15 minutes at the start being
told what to do, how to use the tools and what health and safety
precautions to take. But if you volunteer to give benefits advice
you should get much more training. You might get several training
sessions spread over several weeks before you see a client, plus
ongoing training to keep you up-to-date.
Do
I need qualifications?
Usually you don’t. Some
very skilled work may demand qualifications, but usually
organizations
offer training to enable you to do the work.
Can
I get a qualification?
It’s becoming more common
for organizations to offer volunteers qualifications such as
Red Cross training in first aid and CPR, but it is still unusual.
You may well learn a lot and gain valuable experience, skills
and a reference though. If you do need a formal qualification,
ask at the interview, or contact TSATF via telephone as the office
personnel may know if qualifications are currently being offered.
Can
I volunteer with my family or friends?
Yes, you can but you won’t
have such a large choice as if you were completely flexible.
Some volunteering is usually done in groups, so two or more people
could easily join together. Examples are house painting and fund-raising.
It’s becoming less unusual for organizations to plan volunteering
specially so that groups of people can volunteer together; TSATF
is constantly striving to improve the way it makes use of volunteers
and their time.
I
want to be a social worker. How can I get experience?
Volunteering can be an excellent
way of gaining experience in social work or working with vulnerable
people. It depends greatly on the policies of the college or
university you are attending, so check with your training or
guidance counselor and the head of your program to see if your
volunteered hours can be counted against your practicum. Some
Social Services departments take on volunteers, but you’ll
have to contact them directly.
There are also many other
organizations
working in the health and social care field that involve volunteers
in frontline roles, for example hospitals, hospices, and
organizations
of or for disabled people. |
